No Time Like The Present
by Ilex the Elder
Summary: Based on Pokemon 4 -- the very first Daddyshipping fic. And if you don't know what Daddyshipping is, read on.
1. Chapter 1

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

**__**

Author's note: So what is Daddyshipping, you ask? Well, it all started with a little picture from Pokemon 4 (aka Celebi – A Timeless Encounter) of Satoshi (Ash) and a young Yukinari (Professor Samuel Oak) sitting side-by-side in a tree, arms around each other. This lead to the proposal by other members of the Eldershipping Brigade that a new 'ship could be inferred from that picture – thus, Daddyshipping was born. Why Daddyshipping? Well, given his interest in Ash and Ash's mother, some people believe that Professor Oak might be Ash's father. But even if he's not, Ash does appear to regard Professor Oak as a father figure. Either way, Daddyshipping seemed like an appropriate term for this 'ship. And as far as I know, this is the first Daddyshipping fic ever.

"Oh, Sammy, this has been the best day ever. I'm so glad I met you."

"Me too, Ash."

"I'll never forget you, Sammy."

"And I'll never forget you, Ash."

Professor Samuel Oak awoke with a start. The dream again. Sometimes the setting would be different, but it would always be the same person. And he would always wake up puzzled and somewhat disturbed by it.

__

Why am I having a dream about one of my students? 

And the problem was that it wasn't just any dream. Sometimes the dreams would get rather intimate – kissing, hugging. And the problem was that it just wasn't any student he was dreaming about. It was Ash, the boy who had been his next-door neighbor for years…and the son of his lover, Delia.

__

Why am I dreaming about Ash like this?

The dreams had started a couple of months ago. At first he had dismissed them as nothing – after all, it was normal to have dreams about people you knew. But the dreams persisted and gradually became more and more intimate. He – albeit a younger version of himself -- and Ash sitting together side-by-side, arms around each other, laughing, hugging, sometimes kissing. 

He liked Ash – he wasn't going to deny that. He had known the boy all his life and knew that Ash thought of him as a father figure. Particularly since the boy had never known his biological father; he had abandoned Delia when she told him she was pregnant. But he cared about Ash in a paternal way – not the way he had been dreaming about. Not the same way he cared about Delia. 

The dreams sometimes made him question his sexuality, but he always soon dismissed that idea. He knew he was very much a heterosexual. After all, he had been married before, had children, grandchildren…and shortly after Ash had left on his Pokémon training journey, he and Delia had become lovers. He had intimate dreams about her, too. 

__

But why do I keep dreaming about loving Ash in the same way as I love Delia?

Ah well, he didn't have time to dwell on it now. He had to get up and attend to the Pokémon. Tracey had left the day before to visit his family in the Orange Islands, so he had to attend to his chores as well as Tracey's. He had just finished feeding the Pokémon when the videophone in the lab rang.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Samuel," smiled the pretty auburn-haired woman on the video screen.

"Good morning, Delia," Samuel smiled back. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine, thank you. If it's not too much trouble, could I ask you a favor?"

"You know I'd do anything for you, Delia. What is it?"

"Do you remember that trip I won a few months ago?"

"You mean the one you won at the Harvest Festival raffle?"

"Yes. Anyway, you know I kept putting it off and putting it off because something kept coming up."

"Yes."

"Well, I was looking at the papers today and it turns out that if I don't take that trip by the end of this week, I'll forfeit it. Apparently you have to take the trip within six months of winning it or else it becomes void."

"So what's wrong with that? Don't you want to go to the spa on Cinnabar Island?"

"Of course I do. But the problem is that Ash is here. He arrived yesterday for a visit."

"Can't you take him with you? He might like seeing the Pokémon on Cinnabar Island again."

"The trip is only for one person. I was thinking that you might like to have it instead. Go in my place."

"That's very sweet of you Delia, but I can't go, either. Tracey is gone this week, so I have to keep the lab running by myself until he gets back."

Delia sighed. "Oh dear. Now what'll I do?"

"Why don't you go on your trip and let Ash stay by himself?"

"I can't do that! Ash is too young to stay at the house alone."

"Delia, the boy's been out on his own for quite some time now. I think he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"Maybe, but I still think he's too young to have the house to himself for a few days." Delia's face brightened. "I know! Would it be too much trouble to ask you if Ash could stay at your place for a couple of days? He could help you out with the Pokémon since Tracey's gone."

"Hmmm, I could use the help around here. I didn't realize how much I depended on Tracey until he left." He turned and saw a Rattata munching on his apple. "All right then, send him over and go pack your bags."

Delia smiled broadly. "Thank you so much, Samuel! I'll definitely find a way to make it up to you when I get back."

Samuel smiled to himself at that thought. "Don't worry about that, Delia. Just go to Cinnabar Island and have a great time relaxing and enjoying yourself."

"I'll do that. And thank you again, Samuel. I love you."

"I love you too, Delia. I'll see you soon."

Two hours later, Delia and her son turned up on his doorstep.

"Now you listen to Professor Oak and do everything he tells you to. Remember that he's in charge when I'm not around," Delia said as she fussed over her son one last time.

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore," Ash bristled. "I can take care of myself."

"Make sure you change your you-know-what every single day," Delia reminded him as she straightened her son's baseball cap.

Ash's face reddened with embarrassment. "Mom!"

"Don't worry about a thing, Delia," Samuel reassured her. "We men will get along fine, won't we, Ash?" 

"Can I go put away my things, Professor Oak?" Ash said, eager to escape his mother's fussing over him.

"Certainly. You'll be in Tracey's room. It's upstairs, the second door on your right," Samuel said as he pointed to the stairs.

"Be good, Ash," Delia said as she kissed him. 

"Okay, Mom," Ash said as he wriggled out of her grasp and headed upstairs with Pikachu.

Delia pulled a list out of her purse and handed it to Samuel. "Make sure he eats well and gets plenty of sleep. Don't let him stay up too late. He's allergic to strawberries, so don't let him have any of those. Here are the phone numbers of Ash's pediatrician, the spa where I'll be staying, the fire department, the poison control center, the…"

Samuel silenced her with a kiss. "Don't worry, Delia. I've raised my children and grandchildren, so I think I'm capable of taking care of Ash for a couple of days. We'll be fine. Now you'd better get going or you'll miss your flight."

"Thank you again, Samuel," Delia said as he escorted her outside. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"That's what I'm here for," he smiled as he kissed her again, this time more passionately. "I'll miss you, darling."

"I'll miss you too, sweetheart. See you in a couple of days." 

Samuel watched the woman he loved head down the road until she disappeared in the distance, then turned around and went back inside.

--- 

"Did you get everything settled, Ash?" Professor Oak asked the boy as he came downstairs.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ash said as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "But I still don't think I need a babysitter for a couple of days. I can take care of myself, you know."

Professor Oak smiled. "I know that and you know that, but your mother still thinks of you as her little boy. Besides, it's not as if I'd be babysitting you. I need someone to help me around the lab while Tracey's gone, so you would actually be my temporary live-in assistant. You'd be my employee."

"Well, that sounds better than being babysat. So what do I do first?"

Professor Oak handed Ash a shovel. "Since I finished feeding the Pokémon before you arrived, then it's time for you to clean up after them."

Ash's face fell. "You mean I've got to be a pooper-scooper?"

"Yes, Ash. All my assistants start out at the bottom and work their way up," Professor Oak smiled as he handed Ash a pair of gloves and a garbage bag. "Besides, hard work will give you a good appetite for lunch. We'll be eating in an hour."

"Hope Snorlax hasn't gone poop yet," Ash grumbled as he and Pikachu headed outside.

Professor Oak was finishing up his morning's research an hour later when he realized it was time for lunch. Turning off his computer, he headed to the kitchen and began making some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. (Remembering Delia's warning from earlier, he made sure Ash's sandwiches had grape jelly instead of strawberry.) After putting them down on the table, he glanced at the clock and noticed that it was fifteen minutes later and Ash still wasn't back yet.

__

Wonder if he's still cleaning up outside, he thought as he headed back to the hallway and nearly collided with a frantic Pikachu.

"Pika! Pikachu!" the little yellow Pokémon said frantically as it gestured in the direction of the backyard.

"Slow down, Pikachu," Professor Oak said. "Is something wrong?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika-pika-chu!" 

"Where's Ash?"

Pikachu grabbed his hand and started dragging Professor Oak to the back door. 

"Pika-pika!" The Pokemon pointed in the direction of the grass Pokémon preserve.

Professor Oak followed Pikachu down the path to where the grass Pokémon played and saw something lying facedown in the middle of the field surrounded by several plant-type Pokémon.

"Oddish?" the little purple bulb Pokémon said curiously as it lightly touched the shoulder of the prone form with one of its leaves.

"Ash!" cried Professor Oak as he realized that the creature lying facedown in the middle of the field was Ash. He pushed aside the crowd of curious Pokémon and knelt down beside the unconscious boy, who was still clutching his shovel. 

"Ash? Can you hear me?" He gently shook the boy's shoulder. No response. "Ash?" He shook the boy's shoulder harder, but Ash's eyes still remained closed. Alarmed, Professor Oak quickly pressed his fingers against the boy's neck. As he felt the steady beat of the boy's pulse beneath his fingertips, Professor Oak noticed that the boy's skin seemed rather warm to the touch. He then saw that Ash's face was flushed. 

__

But he didn't seem sick a little while ago, Professor Oak thought as he felt the boy's forehead and discovered that Ash had a fever. Just then, Ash's eyes opened a fraction and he began to moan.

"Ash? Can you hear me?" Professor Oak asked once more. "What happened?"

"Vipuuum," Ash mumbled in response.

"Vipuuum? What's that?"

"Vileplume," Ash mumbled again.

"Vileplume? What about Vileplume?"

"Stnsprrr," Ash muttered.

"Stn…do you mean Stun Spore? Vileplume hit you with Stun Spore?"

Ash nodded and closed his eyes once more. Professor Oak shook his shoulder again and forced them to open. "Ash, stay awake. Do you think you can stand up?"

Ash opened his eyes again and made an attempt to sit up. Professor Oak then helped the boy to his feet. "Come on, son. I've got some salveo weed back in the lab. I'll brew you some tea and that should help you feel better."

---

Back at the Oak house, Ash was lying on the couch in the laboratory (with his bad back, Professor Oak knew there was no way he could carry Ash upstairs) while Professor Oak was searching for some salveo weed, the antidote to Stun Spore.

"Don't worry, Ash," he called from the other side of the lab where he was searching through the cabinet that held medicines and antidotes for Pokémon. "I know I have some salveo weed extract some…aha! Found it." He triumphantly held up the bottle that contained the dried weed. "I'll go find the teapot in the kitchen and brew you up a batch as fast as I can. Be back in a few minutes." 

Ash nodded, pulled his blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

When Professor Oak returned ten minutes later, he discovered that Ash was sound asleep. Even though he knew the boy needed the tea to help counteract the effects of Vileplume's attack, he figured it would be best to let him rest right now. Besides, the tea was fresh out of the teapot and too hot to drink anyway. Professor Oak put the steaming cup of tea on the desk next to the couch and felt Ash's forehead once more. 

__

Still pretty warm, he thought as he went to get a cool compress to help bring the boy's temperature down.

"Sam…" 

Professor Oak whirled around to see who was speaking.

"Sam…" Ash mumbled again.

__

That's odd, he thought as he looked over at the sleeping boy. _Ash has never called me by my first name._

Curious, he went over to the couch where Ash lay and stood watching the boy for a moment.

"Celebi…"

__

Celebi? Why in the world would Ash be talking about a Poké_mon like that?_

"Love you…Sammy…"

Shocked, Professor Oak dropped the washcloth he was holding. It fell atop the cup of salveo weed tea and knocked it to the floor. As the teacup landed with a _crash_ and broke into several pieces, the noise woke Ash up.

"Wha…? Professor Oak, what's going on?" Ash said groggily as he opened his eyes and saw his mentor hovering over him.

"I…uh…dropped the cup of salveo weed tea," Professor Oak stammered as he bent down to pick up the pieces of the broken teacup. "I'll go get you some more. Just…just lie there and rest for a while."

Back in the kitchen, a white-faced Professor Oak located another cup and poured the tea with shaking hands. 

__

Why did Ash say that? Surely he's not having the same kind of dream that I…

Some of the hot tea sloshed out of the cup, burning his hand and jolting him out of his thoughts. Startled back to his senses, Professor Oak cleaned up the spill and headed back to the lab. "Sorry about taking so long, Ash," he said, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Give this a couple of minutes to cool and then drink the whole thing," he said as he handed the cup to Ash. "You should start feeling better soon. I'm going to go upstairs for a couple of minutes. Yell if you need anything." As the boy slowly sipped the hot tea, Professor Oak headed upstairs to the attic. 

"Where can it be?" he muttered to himself as he began searching through the rows of dusty bookshelves. "Aha!" he exclaimed as he located an old sketchbook, pulled it out, and began flipping through the drawings. And there it was – a drawing of a small, elf-like looking Pokémon with huge eyes.

"Celebi," he whispered softly. He then turned to the next page to a drawing of a boy – a dark-haired boy of about eleven or twelve wearing a baseball cap.

"Ash."


	2. Chapter 2

A shaken-looking Professor Oak came back downstairs still holding the sketchbook.

"Hey, I finished my tea, Professor, and I feel a lot…" Ash noticed that his friend looked worse than he did. "Are _you_ feeling all right?"

"Huh? Oh, how are you feeling, Ash?" he said absentmindedly as he felt the boy's forehead.

"I just told you that I was feeling better, Professor Oak. But you don't look so good. Maybe you'd better lie down for a while," Ash said as he stood up and handed the older man his blanket.

"Oh, no…I'll be okay," Professor Oak murmured as he stared at Ash with an odd look on his face. "Sit down for a moment."

"What's up?" Ash asked curiously as he sat back down on the couch. "Hey, is that one of Tracey's sketchbooks?"

"Actually, it's one of mine," Professor Oak said as he sat down on the desk across from the boy. 

"I didn't know you were an artist. Were you a Pokémon watcher like Tracey?"

"Yes…yes, I was," Professor Oak replied as he continued to stare at Ash. "Ash, I'd like to talk to you about something."

"About what, Professor? If it's about Vileplume, I'm sorry. I startled it and then the next thing I knew I had a faceful of Stun Spore."

"No, it's not about Vileplume. Ash, while you were asleep, I overheard you dreaming about something."

"I was? What was I dreaming about?"

"You mentioned a name…Sammy."

Ash's face reddened. "Oh."

"Something the matter, Ash?"

"Uh…" Ash started squirming uncomfortably in his seat. "Professor Oak, can I talk to you about something?"

"About what, Ash?"

"It's…uh…kinda, well…I've been having some weird dreams lately."

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?"

"Well, it's about me and this kid I met a couple of months ago."

"What was the kid's name?"

"Sammy."

A chill went through Professor Oak. "What sort of dreams have you been having about…you and Sammy?"

Ash's face reddened further. "Personal dreams. The kind of dreams that guys have sometimes…you know the kind I'm talking about."

Professor Oak nodded sympathetically. 

"Anyway, me and Sammy, we're doing stuff like…like hugging…and other stuff like that."

"I see," Professor Oak said slowly, trying to avoid the feeling of rising panic within him. "When did you start having these dreams?"

"A couple of months ago. Right after I met him."

"Sounds like Sammy made an impression on you."

Ash nodded. "Yeah. He was a really great guy. I've never met anyone like him before."

"Ash," Professor Oak said with a shaky voice. "What did your friend look like?"

"Well, he was about my age, twelve or so. He was a little bit taller than I am. He had brown hair, lighter than mine. Brown eyes, too."

__

Oh God, Professor Oak thought anxiously. "Ash, you also mentioned the name Celebi while you were asleep. Can you tell me about that?"

"Sure. Celebi was this Pokémon we met. It was kind of small and green, with big eyes. It could travel through time. That's how we met Sammy. He said that he had come from the past."

"The past," Professor Oak echoed, heart pounding rapidly. "How far from the past?"

"He said forty years." 

"Forty plus twelve is fifty-two," Professor Oak said quietly to himself. "Fifty-two."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with…are you okay, Professor? You look kind of sick."

Professor Oak waved Ash's hand away. "Ash, do you know what my first name is?"

"Sure. Samuel. But what does that have to do with…" Ash then gave his companion a funny look. 

"And do you know how old I am, Ash?"

Ash shook his head. "You're older than Mom."

"Ash, I'm fifty-two years old."

"Fifty-two?" Then it hit him. "Professor, what are you saying?"

Professor Oak picked up the sketchbook and handed it to the trembling boy. "This."

Ash gasped when he saw the drawing of Celebi. "Celebi? When did you see one of those?"

"Keep going, Ash."

Ash turned to the next drawing and nearly fainted. "Oh my God! That…it's _me_! When did you…"

"Ash, I did those drawings when I was your age. Forty years ago."

Ash's head started to spin. "Wait…are you telling me…_you're_ Sammy?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes. I don't understand it myself, but it would appear so. You see, Ash, I've been having dreams like you've been having lately. And they started about the same time yours did."

Ash looked ill. "But how...? How can _you _be Sammy?"

Professor Oak shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I wish I knew, Ash. I'm struggling to make sense of it myself."

"Then that means that…" Ash, horrified at the realization that he was having intimate dreams about the man he had come to think of as a father figure and that the object of his desire had been having similar dreams about him, realized that he was going to be sick. 

"Ash, are you all right?" Professor Oak said with concern as he saw the blood drain out of the boy's face. "You'd better lie back down."

"I…no!" Ash said as he shoved aside his friend's hand. "Don't touch me!"

"Ash…" At the sight of the boy's terrified expression, Professor Oak backed off. "All right. Just rest there for a bit. Do you feel like eating anything?" 

Ash shook his head wildly. "No!"

"Ash, I'm not going to hurt you," Professor Oak tried to reassure the frightened boy. "Ash, I'm still the same Professor Oak that's known you all your life. I'm your friend."

"A friend who's been having _dreams_ about me," Ash said accusingly. 

"Ash, we need to talk about this," Professor Oak said as he pulled up a chair and sat down directly across from the couch where the boy with saucer-sized eyes was staring at him intently. "Look, Ash…if it is possible that we did meet once --that I did somehow travel through time to the future-- then the Sammy that you knew --the one you're having dreams about-- doesn't exist anymore."

"But _you're_ Sammy," Ash insisted.

"I'm the Samuel Oak of the present. The Samuel Oak of the past, the one that you met and have been having dreams about, no longer exists."

Ash thought about it for a minute. "I guess you're right, Professor."

"And Ash, I can assure you that while the young Samuel may have had…feelings for you, I can assure you that the Samuel sitting here before you doesn't have those now."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ash, I do care about you. You're my neighbor, my student, my friend. In some ways I even think of you as my own son."

Ash was surprised. "Really?"

"Yes, Ash. But I don't have desires for you."

"But…but you said that you've been having dreams about me like I've been having about Sammy!"

"Ash, maybe the younger version of me did have feelings for you, but I can assure you that I don't have those now."

"How can you be so sure, Professor Oak?" Ash said skeptically.

"Because, Ash, I have those feelings for someone else."

"Someone else? You mean like Tracey?"

Professor Oak was momentarily confused. "Tracey? Oh no, Ash. Not..."

"Brock?"

"No, not…"

"Misty?!"

"No, Ash! It's not like that."

"Then who, Professor?"

Professor Oak sighed. As long as he was confessing everything else, he might as well come clean about everything. "Ash, I have those feelings for your mother."

Ash's eyebrows shot up. "My mom….you and my mom? How long have the two of you been…been…?"

"I've loved your mother for years, Ash. But we didn't start dating until shortly after you left on your Pokémon journey."

Ash suddenly looked ill again. "Professor, are you saying that you've been having dreams -- _guy _dreams_--_ about my mom?"

Professor Oak suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Ash, as I've explained to you before, all men have those kind of…"

"Ewww!" Ash threw the blanket atop himself and disappeared.

"Um…Ash?" The lump under the blanket didn't move. "Ash, as I was saying, if you're worried about the dreams you've been having about…about Sammy, I can assure you that those type of dreams are a normal part of growing up. It's normal to have desires about someone you care about."

Ash, who by now was dying of embarrassment, groaned. "Can you leave me alone for a while, Professor Oak? I don't feel so good."

Professor Oak decided that it probably would be a good idea for the two of them to have some time alone to sort out their thoughts, so he stood up and pushed the chair back to his desk. "Ash, I'll be working in the other room if you need anything." He made a move to put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, but then decided that in Ash's state such a gesture could easily be misinterpreted. Professor Oak pulled his hand away, regarded the lump under the blanket one last time, then headed to the other part of the lab to do some paperwork.

An hour later, the ringing of the videophone interrupted his thoughts.

"Hello?"

The image of Delia, clad only in a white silk robe, appeared on the screen. "Samuel?"

__

Oh yes, I'm definitely heterosexual, thought Samuel when he realized that Delia wasn't wearing anything underneath her bathrobe. "How are things at the Cinnabar Spa?"

"Oh, wonderful," Delia smiled as she nibbled on a slice of melon. "It's so relaxing here. They're spoiling me rotten."

"You deserve to be spoiled once in while, Delia," he smiled as made out the outlines of her curves underneath the silky material. 

"I just wanted to see how things were going there. How's Ash?"

The mention of Ash's name snapped him out of his fantasizing. "Uh…he's good. Fine. Ash is fine. He had a little run-in with some Stun Spore earlier, but he's all right now."

"Stun Spore? What happened? Is Ash all right?"

"Delia, you don't have anything to worry about. He's fine. I treated him with some salveo weed tea and his fever is gone."

Delia dropped her slice of melon. "Fever? You didn't tell me Ash was sick! Have you called the pediatrician yet? How high is his fever? Do you have any children's ibuprofen there?" 

Samuel silently kicked himself for having mentioned the Stun Spore in the first place. "He's not sick, Delia. Stun Spore exposure sometimes causes fever in humans. It's easily treated with salveo weed tea. Ash is fine now."

"Are you sure? How do you know he won't have a relapse or something like that? Maybe I should come home and take him to the doctor."

"Delia, there's no need for that. First, unless Ash is exposed to Stun Spore again, he won't have a relapse. And if he does, I'll just give him some more tea. Second, there's no need to take him to the doctor. Ash's fever is gone – he's perfectly healthy." Healthy physically, anyway. He wasn't so sure about emotionally after their conversation earlier.

"Are you sure, Samuel?"

"Delia, trust me. I've taken care of my children and grandchildren when they were sick before -not to mention that I doctor Pokémon on a regular basis- and in my opinion, Ash is fine. There's no need for you to come home. Stay there and relax."

"Well, if you say so, Samuel," Delia said somewhat reluctantly. "But let me talk to Ash just to make sure."

Samuel nearly dropped the phone. If Ash told her about the conversation they had earlier…

"Um…hang on for a second and I'll go see if he's around." He stuck his head in the next room and saw that Ash was no longer on the couch. "Delia, Ash isn't around right now. He's probably outside taking care of the Pokémon."

"Oh. Do you think he should be doing that after what happened? He might be weak from the fever."

"Delia, please stop worrying about Ash. He's fine…really. Like I said, I've got a fairly decent background in medicine and if anything happens, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him. And if it's anything I can't handle, I promise that I'll call the pediatrician right away. Is that all right?"

"Well, okay," Delia said. "But call me right away if he even has the slightest sniffle, understand?"

"Delia, stop worrying. You went to the spa to relax, remember?"

A chime rang. "Oh, I've got to go. It's time for my facial." Delia hopped off the bed. "I'll call again later just to make sure everything's all right there."

"Delia, you don't have to…" _Click._

Great, he thought bitterly as he hung up the phone. _Now she's worried about Ash. Way to go, Samuel. _

"Sometimes I really do need to learn to keep my mouth shut," he muttered as he went upstairs to find where Ash went. He went to Tracey's room and knocked on the door. "Ash? Are you in there?" He opened the door a fraction and peeked in. Ash was lying on the bed with Pikachu at his side, staring at the ceiling. Professor Oak quietly approached the bed. "Feeling any better, Ash?"

"Dunno," Ash replied dully, not bothering to look at his visitor.

Professor Oak stretched out a hand to feel Ash's forehead, but Ash immediately flinched at his approach. 

"Ash, I'm not going to hurt you," Professor Oak reassured him, even though he was somewhat hurt by the boy's reaction. "All I'm going to do is check to see if your fever's gone. Is that all right?" He spoke in the voice he normally used to calm wild Pokémon.

After glancing at the older man warily, Ash nodded.

"Fever's gone," Professor Oak reported as he gently laid a hand on the boy's forehead. "Do you feel up to getting back to work? It's time to feed the Pokémon again."

"All right," Ash said without much enthusiasm as he sat up. "Come on, Pikachu." 

__

I wonder if he's ever going to trust me again, Professor Oak thought sadly as he watched the pair head down the hall.

For the rest of the day, Ash avoided his host. He even passed on dinnertime, claiming that he didn't feel like eating.

"Are you sure, Ash? You've been working hard all day taking care of the Pokémon."

"I'm just not hungry, that's all," Ash said as he stared at the floor. "Can I go to my room now?"

"There's a documentary on the Pokémon Science Channel tonight on the evolution of electric-type Pokémon. I was wondering if you would be interested in watching it with me."

"No thanks, Professor," Ash shook his head as he picked up Pikachu. "I'm gonna turn in early."

"Good night, Ash," Professor Oak called as Ash and Pikachu headed upstairs.

He tried watching the documentary alone, but found it hard to concentrate on the evolution of Mareep while he was worried about the boy upstairs. Sighing, he turned off the television and was heading back to the lab to finish up some work when there was a knock at the front door.

"Delia?! What are you doing here?" Samuel exclaimed at the sight of the woman standing on his doorstep.

"Oh, I just couldn't enjoy myself while I was worrying about my baby," Delia said as she went inside and stood in the hallway. "Ash? Sweetie?"

"Delia, you shouldn't have canceled the rest of your trip just for this," Samuel told her as he closed the front door. 

"Well, I tried to relax like you said, but all I kept thinking about was Ash. I had this feeling that something was wrong." She went over to the foot of the stairs. "Ash?"

"He's already gone to bed, Delia," he informed her as he took her by the arm and led her into the adjacent living room.

"Already?" She glanced at her watch. "But it's only seven-thirty. I know I told you that he needed to go to bed early, but I was thinking more along the lines of nine-thirty or ten." A worried expression crossed her face. "He's not feeling sick again, is he?"

"Delia, we need to have a little talk about Ash," he said as he sat down next to her on the couch. "First, let me assure you that he's fine physically. I checked him myself and his fever is completely gone. But you're right…something did happen earlier."

"What?"

"Delia, Ash and I had a little talk earlier. Has he told you about the dreams he's been having lately?"

"Dreams? What dreams?"

"Delia, Ash has been having dreams lately about someone. Someone that he cares about."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Well…intimate dreams, apparently. 'Guy dreams' as your son so eloquently put it." 

"Guy dream…? Oh, _those_ kind of dreams. Oh, I guess my baby is growing up, isn't he?"

"Yes, Delia. He is."

"So who's he having these dreams about? Is it Misty? I know he seems to be interested in her."

"No, Delia. They're not about Misty."

"They're not? Then who?"

"They're about someone your son met a couple of months ago. They involve a boy named Sammy."

"Sammy? Ash told me that he and his friends met someone named Sammy a couple of months ago. Ash said that he and Sammy became good friends, but I didn't realize Ash felt like _that_ about his friend. Oh my."

"Delia, as I told Ash, it's perfectly normal to have those type of dreams about someone you care about. I quite frequently have dreams about you," he said as he took her hand in his. "But lately I've also been having dreams like Ash has been having."

Delia gave him a perplexed look. "I don't understand."

"Maybe I should explain. This may be a bit hard to follow, but please try to bear with me. A couple of months ago, Ash and his friends met this boy named Sammy. And like you said, Ash and Sammy became good friends. The interesting thing was that Sammy and a Pokémon named Celebi came from the past."

"The past?"

"Yes, forty years in the past, to be precise. Celebi has the ability to time travel, and apparently Sammy got sucked into a time portal and ended up in the present, where he met Ash."

"But if Sammy was from the past, then how did he get back? Did he ever go back?"

"Yes, Delia. With Celebi's help, he did. And Sammy grew up…he grew up to be a Pokémon researcher. But he never exactly was able to remember what happened to him forty years ago until recently."

"If Sammy is a Pokémon researcher, then do you know him?"

"Yes, Delia, I do. I know him quite well." He gripped her hands tightly and looked directly into her eyes. "Because Sammy is me."

"What? Samuel, you're getting me confused. How can you be the boy that Ash met?"

"Because Delia, like I told you, Celebi has the ability to time travel. I apparently got swept into its time portal and the younger me somehow ended up in the present a couple of months ago."

"But…but if you're Sammy, then if you're having dreams like you say Ash has been having…" Delia gasped. "Samuel, are you saying that you…that you're having desires for my…my son?"

"No, Delia! No! As I tried to explain to Ash, maybe the younger me had feelings for him, but I don't have those feelings for him now."

Delia's stricken face told him that she didn't believe him.

"Delia, oh God, Delia…you're the only person I desire. You're the only person I have those feelings for."

"Samuel…I…I wish I could believe you, but…"

"Then believe this, Delia," he said as he reached up and cupped her face in his hands. "I swear to you that you are the only person I want to be with. I care about your son, that's true, but only as a friend or as a father might a son. But you…you're the one that excites me. You're the one that arouses me. And I know exactly how to prove it to you." He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. "I want you so badly right now, Delia," he whispered as his kisses trailed down her neck. "Especially after I saw you in that robe earlier. The only daydreams I've been having lately are about how you looked under that robe," he said as his hand made its way to her breast and began caressing it. "And if Ash weren't around, I'd like nothing more than to act on the dreams right now."

"Samuel…I…" Delia pulled away from him. "Don't." 

Samuel felt his heart sink. "Delia, I…"

"Samuel, I don't know what to think right now," she said as she stood up and stared at the man she loved with confused eyes. "But I think I'd better go see Ash."

"Delia, wait," he said as he frantically grabbed her hand. "Please…you've got to believe me when I say that I feel absolutely nothing sexually for your son. I've been trying to convince Ash of that all day, but I haven't been having much luck. And that's another thing, Delia. I told Ash about us."

Delia's eyes widened in shock. "You did _what_?"

"I told him about us. I thought the only way to convince him that I felt nothing for him sexually was to tell him that the only person I have those feelings for was you."

"Oh my God, you…you told Ash that we've been sleeping together?!" Delia sank down on the couch and buried her face in her hands.

"No, Delia," Samuel tried desperately to reassure her. "All I told him was that I have feelings for you and that I've loved you for a long time. But I didn't tell him that we've been sleeping together."

"You guys have been doing _what_?!"

Both Delia and Samuel whirled around and saw a stunned-looking Ash standing in the doorway. He had overheard the last part of their conversation.

"Ash!" a horrified Delia exclaimed at the sight of her son. "I…"

"You…" Ash said with a trembling voice as he looked directly at Professor Oak. "You've been having _sex_ with my mom? I thought you said you've only been having dreams about her!"

"Ash," Professor Oak began. "What two consenting adults do in private is their own business. But yes, when two adults love each other, they often express their love by…"

"Oh God, I don't want to hear any more of this!" Ash said furiously as he dashed out the front door with Pikachu on his heels.

"Ash!" Delia cried as she leapt to her feet and ran to the front door. "Ash!" 

"Let him go, Delia," Samuel said as the two watched Ash and Pikachu fly down the side of the hill and disappear down the road that led back to the Ketchum house. "He needs to be alone right now."

"But he…"

"He needs to sort out everything that's happened right now. And quite frankly, so do we," Samuel said as he shut the door. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you think he's all right?" Delia asked worriedly as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "He's been gone for over an hour now."

Samuel handed her a cup of tea and sat down next to her at the kitchen table. "As I said, Delia, he needs time to digest what's happened."

"I just wish he hadn't found out about us this way," Delia said sadly as she looked down at her cup of tea.

"Delia, we had to tell Ash about our relationship someday," Samuel said as he took her hand in his. "And I don't think you wanted to wait until we got married to tell him, did you?"

Delia choked on her sip of tea. "Got…got _married_? Samuel, are you serious?"

"Yes. I've been thinking about us a lot lately – especially today. You're the one I want to be with, Delia. I love you. And I would like to marry you." 

Delia, stunned by her lover's proposal, dropped her teacup on the floor. It broke and sent tea and pieces of cup scattering across the kitchen floor.

"Oops, there goes another teacup," Samuel said as he bent down to clean up the pieces of the shattered teacup. "I really do need to buy some sturdier ones." As he reached up and put the pieces on the table, he saw that Delia was staring at him with wide eyes. "Delia? Are you all right? Say something, please."

"I'm…I'm…I'm shocked, to say the least," Delia said as she continued to stare at him with a stunned expression on her face.

"Why?" Samuel said as he took her hands in his. "I love you. And since I'm already on my knees, I might as well do this the right way." He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Delia Ketchum, will you marry me?"

Delia bit her lip to try to halt the tears forming in her eyes. "Yes."

Overjoyed (and relieved) by her reply, Samuel leapt up and pulled her to her feet in a vigorous embrace. "Thank God. I was so afraid that you were going to say 'no'."

"I love you too, Samuel," Delia said as she kissed him. "And I want to marry you more than anything. It's just that I'm worried about what Ash is going to…"

The sound of the front door slamming caused them both to jump. 

"Professor Oak! Help!"

Dashing into the hall, Delia and Samuel found a frantic Ash holding an injured Pikachu. 

"Ash! What happened?" Professor Oak exclaimed as he saw the unconscious Pokémon.

"Pikachu and I were down by the Fire Pokémon Preserve when we saw that two of the Houndoom had gotten loose," a near-hysterical Ash explained as he ran over to Professor Oak. "They went after Pikachu and attacked us. Pikachu didn't have time to get away." 

"How did you get away?" Professor Oak asked as he took the burned and bloody Pikachu from the boy and then ran down the hall to the Pokémon treatment room.

"I started hitting and kicking them to make them let go of Pikachu," Ash continued as he followed at Professor Oak's heels. "But that didn't work, so I let out Totodile. He took care of them with a Hydro Pump attack. But…but Pikachu…" Ash's eyes filled with tears as Professor Oak gently placed the injured Pokémon on the examination table, and the boy reached out to pat his wounded Pokémon. "Oh, Pikachu."

"Ash, you'd better wait outside," Professor Oak said as he started to examine the injured Pokémon. 

"Please, Professor Oak. Let me stay with Pikachu," Ash pleaded. "I don't want to leave him."

Professor Oak looked up at the boy's tear-stained face. "All right, Ash. But stand over there so I can work on Pikachu."

"Okay, Professor," Ash gulped as he moved to a nearby lab bench and sat down and watched anxiously as Professor Oak treated the injured Pokémon. Finally, Professor Oak picked up the still-unconscious Pikachu and gently placed the Pokemon on a nearby bed.

"Professor? Is Pikachu…"

"Pikachu's badly injured, but it'll pull through," Professor Oak said as he began hooking up a monitor to Pikachu's chest. "The Burn Heal should start working soon. It's just that the other injuries will take a little longer to heal. But the Full Heal I've administered will help speed things along."

"Oh, Pikachu." Ash reached over to pat his Pokémon's head and Professor Oak gasped in horror.

"My God, Ash! What happened to your arm?" On the boy's left forearm was a burned, bloody gash several inches long.

Ash looked down at his injured arm. "One of the Houndoom went after me when I tried to get it off of Pikachu. It doesn't hurt too much."

"Ash, you need to see a doctor right now," Professor Oak said as he started dragging the boy away from Pikachu's bed. "Your mom needs to take you to the hospital."

"No, Professor Oak. I'm not leaving Pikachu!" Ash insisted as he broke away from the older man's grip and ran back to his Pokémon's side. 

"Ash, you're hurt, too. You need to see a doctor," Professor Oak insisted as he went after Ash once more.

"No, Professor. I can't leave Pikachu," the boy said firmly as he started stroking Pikachu's head with his uninjured arm. "Professor Oak, you're like a doctor. You can fix me up."

Professor Oak shook his head. "Ash, I take care of injured Pokémon. Not people. Besides, Burn Heal doesn't work very effectively in humans."

"Please, Professor," Ash pleaded. "You can do it. You can help me, too. I trust you."

Those were the words he had been wanting to hear. Sighing in resignation, Professor Oak went off in search of the items he needed to treat Ash's arm. 

"Sit down, Ash," Professor Oak said as he returned with an armful of first-aid supplies. "And let me take a look at that arm."

Fifteen minutes later, Professor Oak stuck his head through the door of the Pokémon treatment area into the hallway. "Delia?"

Delia jumped up from the chair where she had been waiting anxiously. "Samuel, what's going on? Is Pikachu all right? Where's Ash? What's…"

"Calm down, Delia," Professor Oak reassured her. "Everyone's all right. Pikachu's pretty banged up, but he'll pull through. And Ash is okay, too."

"Ash?" Delia replied, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Professor Oak took her arm and led her into the examination room. He pointed to a bed at the far end of the room where Ash and Pikachu lay side by side. The boy was cuddling his Pokémon and murmuring reassuring words to it.

"It's okay, Pikachu. I'll be right here when you wake up," Ash whispered softly as he stroked his Pokémon's head.

"Ash, what in the world happened to your arm?" Delia exclaimed in shock at the sight of her son's bandaged left forearm.

"It's okay, Mom," Ash reassured her as he looked up. "Professor Oak took care of me and Pikachu. We're both gonna be okay."

"Ash tried to stop one of the Houndoom from attacking Pikachu," Professor Oak explained to her. "He'll be all right, but just to be safe, I'd like for you to take him to his doctor first thing tomorrow to check my handiwork."

"Don't worry, Mom," Ash said as he returned to his Pokémon. "We're both gonna be…" 

Pikachu's eyes fluttered open. "Pika?"

"Pikachu!" Ash cried happily as he hugged his Pokémon. "Oh Pikachu, you're gonna be all right now. Thanks to Professor Oak." Ash smiled at Pikachu's doctor. 

"Why don't we let Pikachu get some rest now?" Professor Oak suggested. "He'll need to stay here overnight to recover."

"Can I stay here with Pikachu? Please?" Ash begged. "Please, Mom?"

"If Professor Oak says it's all right," Delia smiled.

"I'll go get you and Pikachu a blanket," Professor Oak said as he went off in search of one.

"You know, Mom," Ash said. "Professor Oak's a great guy."

"Yes he is, Ash," Delia replied. She then reached over and took her son's hand. "Ash, I have something important to tell you."

"What is it, Mom?"

"Ash, Professor Oak asked me to marry him."

Ash's jaw dropped. "Whoa! What did you tell him, Mom?"

"I said 'yes', Ash," Delia replied as she squeezed her son's hand. "But Ash, I want to know how you feel about all this. Are you okay with Professor Oak becoming your stepfather?"

"Well, I'm still kinda getting used to the idea of the two of you being…well, a couple. But when Pikachu and I were out walking around, I starting thinking about it and I realized that the two of you do spend a lot of time together. And you do seem pretty happy when you're with him."

Delia smiled. "Yes, Ash. I am."

"And Professor Oak's been kinda like a dad to me all these years," Ash continued. "I guess it wouldn't be much different than things are now."

"Here you go," Professor Oak said as he came back into the room and spread a blanket atop Ash and Pikachu. "I also found a pillow for you, Ash." 

"Thanks," Ash replied as Professor Oak fluffed the pillow and put it under his head. "So when are you and Mom gonna get married?"

"It's okay, Samuel. I told him," Delia said when she saw the surprised look on her fiance's face. "Ash, I know it's going to take some time for us to get used to how things are going to be in the future. We probably won't get married for a while."

"Ash, in spite of everything that's happened today, are you…do you want me to be your stepfather?" Professor Oak asked the boy somewhat nervously.

Ash looked at Professor Oak, then at his mother, then at Professor Oak again. "Yeah, Professor Oak. I do."

Both Delia and Samuel breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Like your mother said, we'll probably be engaged for a while, so that'll give us plenty of time to adjust to being a family," Professor Oak said as he checked Pikachu once more. "Meanwhile, I think we all need to get some sleep." 

"Sleep well, honey," Delia said as she bent down and kissed her son. "You too, Pikachu. Get plenty of rest so you can get better."

"Pikachu," the little Pokémon said as it curled up next to Ash and closed its eyes.

"Let me know if you or Pikachu need anything," Professor Oak said as he turned out the overhead light. "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"Thanks…Dad," Ash grinned as he cuddled Pikachu to him and pulled the blanket snugly around them.

"Guess that means that Ash is all right with us getting married," Samuel smiled as he took Delia's hand and they left the sleeping boy and his Pokémon.

---

Late the next morning, Ash came bounding into the lab. "Hey, Professor."

"Morning, Ash," Professor Oak smiled at his visitor. "How's your arm?"

Ash looked down at his bandaged limb. "The doctor said you did a great job treating my arm. He said that if you ever get tired of doctoring Pokémon, he wants to hire you."

Professor Oak chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment."

"How's Pikachu?" Ash asked as he looked around.

"See for yourself," Professor Oak replied. Ash looked down and saw Pikachu sitting in Professor Oak's lap.

"Pikachu!" the little yellow Pokémon cried happily as it leapt into Ash's arms.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash smiled as he hugged his Pokémon. "You're all better!"

"Pikachu is back to full health," Professor Oak smiled at the pair. "He didn't wake up until after you and your mom left for the doctor's office, so he's been keeping me company until you got back."

"Speaking of which," Ash smiled mischievously, "when we were out, we got you a surprise."

"A surprise? What is it?"

"See for yourself," Delia said as she came into the room and handed her fiance a piece of paper. "It was Ash's idea."

Professor Oak gasped in astonishment when he read the document. "Ash, are you saying that…?"

"Yep, Professor Oak," Ash grinned. "When you and Mom get married, I want you to adopt me. That way, you'll really be my dad."

"Thank you, Ash," Professor Oak said as he handed the adoption papers back to Delia and laid a hand on his future stepson's shoulder. "That means a lot to me."

"Now if you and Pikachu will excuse me," Delia said as she grabbed her fiance's arm. "I'm taking my future husband back to the mall because I saw an absolutely gorgeous engagement ring while we were out shopping."

"See you guys later," Ash called out as his mother and Professor Oak left for the jewelry store. As Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder, the boy noticed a sketchbook sitting on the nearby table. Ash picked it up and realized that it was the same one that Professor Oak had shown him the day before. Slowly, Ash began to flip through the sketchpad of drawings until he came to the one of Celebi. He studied it for a moment, then smiled. "So, Celebi…did you know all of this was going to happen?" 

Ash wasn't sure, but for a moment he swore he saw a twinkle in the Pokémon's eye.

THE END


End file.
